Apparatus for electroslag melting of shaped ingots

ABSTRACT

The apparatus for electroslag melting of shaped ingots has two similar crystallyzers with melting vessels mounted on slides travelling in the slots provided in the crystallyzers, each of the crystallyzers having a throat at its wall, and the two throats adapted for forming a link member in an ingot are arranged coaxially with each other and communicate upon joining the crystallyzer cavities. One of the crystallyzers is movably mounted along the geometrical axis of these throats and are turnable about the horizontal axis which is below the throat axis and normal to it.

United States Patent 91 Medovar et al.

[ 1 APPARATUS FOR ELECTROSLAG MELTING OF SHAPED INGOTS [76] Inventors:Boris Izrailevich Medovar, bulvar Filed:

Lesi Ukrainki; Rudolf Solomonovich Dubinsky, ulitsa Politekhnicheskaya,5, kv. 209; Georgy Alexandrovich Boiko, ulitsa Vladimiro-Lybedskaya, l6,kv. 106; Sergei Petrovich Egorov, ulitsa Nevskaya, 34, kv. 1, all ofKiev; Lev Vasilievich Popov, ulitsa Kharkovskaya, 2, kv. 21, Bryansk;Vladimir Nikolaevich Strukov, ulitsa Kuibysheva, l3, kv. l7, Bryansk;Stanislav Stepanovich Antsiferov, ulitsa Kuibysheva, ll, kv. l, Bryansk;Anatoly Petrovich Kulikov, ulitsa Mayakovskogo, 28, Bryansk, all ofU.S.S.R.

Dec. 27, 1972 Appl. No.: 319,056

US. Cl. 164/252, 164/136 Apr. 16, 1974 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,377,732 6/1945 Walker 164/136 2,385,206 9/1945 Hopkins164/52 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 3,925,676 11/1964 Japan 219/1261,269,295 5/1968 Germany 164/136 Primary Examiner-J. Spencer OverholserAssistant ExaminerJohn E. Roethel Attorney, Agent, or Firml-1olman &Stern {57 ABSTRACT The apparatus for electroslag melting of shapedingots has two similar crystallyzers with melting vessels mounted onslides travelling in the slots provided in the crystallyzers, each ofthe crystallyzers having a throat at its wall, and the two throatsadapted for forming a link member in an ingot are arranged coaxiallywith each other and communicate upon jommg the crystallyzer cavities.One of the crystallyzers is ni5vably mounted along the geometricalaxisafflise I 1555353 55 fiiinahle alatilftftliehofiiarfial 555 whichisbelow the throat axis and normal to it.

i 219/126 3 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure ll l l i SHAPED INGOT S The presentinvention relates to apparatuses for electroslag melting of shapedingots.

An apparatus for electroslag melting for the production of shaped ingotsis known in the art which comprises a split cooled crystallyzer having alongitudinal slot at its side wall, a slide arranged in said wall, amelting vessel rigidly mounted on said slide, said melting vesselcommunicating with the crystallyzer through this slide, said slidehaving a level sensor for sensing the metal level in the crystallyzer, adrive for moving the slide and the melting vessel in the verticaldirection, and consumable electrodes mounted in electrode holders.

This apparatus is only capable of producing shaped ingots having nolinks which are normal to the ingots parallel portions. Ingots includingtwo portions connected by a link with each other cannot be produced inconventional crystallyzers. Examples of such ingots used as manufacturedarticles are cranks of crankshafts where two webs or cheeks areconnected by a pin or neck.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide anapparatus for electroslag melting for the production of shaped ingotswhich includes'two parallel portions and a link arranged normal theretosuch as ingots of the type used for cranks of crankshafts and forH-shaped and U-shaped ingots.

Itis another object of the present invention to eliminate the formationof shrinkage in cranks in the link members of the ingots produced.

These objects are attained in an apparatus for electroslag melting inthe production of shaped ingots comprising a split cooled crystallyzerhaving a longitudinal slot at its side wall, a slide arranged in saidwall, a melting vessel rigidly mounted on said slide and communicatingwith said crystallyzer through said slide, a level sensor for sensingthe metal level in said crystallyzer arranged on said slide, a drive formoving said slide and said melting vessel in the vertical direction, andconsumable electrodes mounted in electrode holders, wherein according tothe invention provision is made for another similar crystallyzer, eachof both crystallyzers having a throat in its wall, said throats beingarranged coaxial with each other and adapted for forming link members inan ingot and communicating upon joining the cavities of saidcrystallyzer, with one of the said crystallyzers being movably mountedalong the geometrical axis of said throats and turnable around thehorizontal axis which is below said geometrical axis of said throats andat right angles thereto.

The apparatus according to the invention will ensure a highly efficientproduction of the shaped ingots as well as providing for highperformance and excellent quality of ingots having a complicated orcomplex shape such as cranks of marine diesel crankshafts.

'One of the crystallyzers is preferably equipped with joint pins whichmay be mounted in brackets of the carriage for moving this crystallyzer.

Due to such an arrangement the ingot shrinkageand deterioration can beavoided.

In order to prevent slag leakage through the gap between thecrystallyzer throats a packingbush may be used which should be made ofmaterial identical to that of the ingot produced and inserted into thecrystallyzer throats.

The above-mentioned and other objects and features of the invention andthe manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the inventionitself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptionof an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, wherein the figure shows a longitudinal elevationview of the apparatus for producing cranks of crankshafts taken along the a xi of the c rank neck in an electroslag melting apparatus.

Now referring to the drawing, the apparatus comportion or link member 4of the ingot. A slide 5 is mounted in a longitudinal slot 6 in the wallof crystallyzer 1 which is opposite to throat 3 so that it is capable oftravelling in the vertical direction when driven by a drive (not shownin the drawing). A melting vessel'7 whose cavity communicates with thecavity of crystallyzer 1 through a channel in slide 5 is mounted ontheslide 5. Crystallyzer 2 has a similar construction, but it is rigidlyfixed on a support (not shown in the drawing) whereas the crystallyzer 1is mounted on a carriage 8 which is freely movable along the geometricalaxis of throat 3. The brackets of carriage 8 have joint pins 9 of thecrystallyzer I mounted turnably around the horizontal geometrical axiswhich is below the axis of the throat but normal Each slide 5 has asensor 10 for sensing the metal level in the corresponding crystallyzerlor 2. A consumable electrode 11 is arranged above each melting vessel 7and a non-consumable electrode 12 is mounted in the bottom of meltingvessel 7. Each melting vessel pair and a crystallyzer shares a commonslag bath 13. A packing bush 14 made of the material identical to thatof the ingot produced is inserted into throats 3 in order ,to preventthe leakage of flux 13 out of throats 3. I

The smelting of shaped ingots in the apparatus described and made inaccordance with the invention is carried out in the following manner.

The melting vessels 7 are mounted on crystallyzers 1 and 2 at theirextreme lower positions so that sensors 10 for sensing the metal levelin crystallyzers 1 and 2 are positioned against the bottom edges of theforming cavities of crystallyzers .1 and 2.The premelted fluxing agent13 is poured into melting vessels 7, and the working electric current isfed to the consumable electrodes 11 and the non-consumable electrodes12. The molten metal produced as a result of the melting down of theelectrodes 11 flows over from the melting vessel 7 through the channelsprovided therein and in slide 5 and then into the cavity of thecorresponding crystallyzer 1 or 2. As the level of the ingot beingsmelted in crystallyzers l and 2 rises and which is registeredbysensors! 0 the melting vessels 7 are moved up by thedrive of slide 5and the electrodes 11 are fed into slag bath 13 in accordance with theirmelt-off rate by the electrode holders travelling along the columns(columns, electrode holders and their I associated drives are 3 notshown in the drawing. for simplification pur poses; the arrows indicatethe direction of travel of melting vessels 7 and the consumableelectrodes 11 during the melting process).

When crank neck 4 is being smelted, slag baths 13 of the joinedcrystallyzers 1 and 2 are united via the cavities of throats 3. Apacking bush 14 is inserted into throats 3 to prevent the leakage of thefluxing agent 13 through the gap between these throats. When the ingotshrinks in throats 3 of crystallyzers 1 and 2, crystallyzer 1 is drawnto crystallyzer 2 by the shrinkage forces. Besides, crystallyzer 1 isturned around the horizontal axis of the joint pins 9 by these shrinkageforces, Due to such arrangement for the crystallyzers the formation ofcracks in a crank neck 4 is eliminated.

It will be evident that the apparatus described above is shown to besimple and easy to operate andmaintaifdueto the constant distancebetween the electrodes and to the constant current between theconsumable and non-consumable electrodes regardless 1. An apparatus forel'ectroslag melting in the ro-,

duction of shaped ingots comprising: two split cooled crystallyzers,each of said crystallyzers having a lon g itudinal slot at its side walland with throats arranged coaxially with each other and adapted forforming a neck of the ingot produced and communicating upon joining thecavities of said crystallyzers. one of said crystallyzers being mountedso that it is capable of having a travelling means along the geometricalaxis of said throats and turning around the horizontal axis which isbelow the axis of said throats and at right angles thereto; two slideseach one of which is mounted in each slot of said crystallyzers so that,it is movable therealong and adapted for'maintaining metal and slagbaths; two melting vessels each one of which is rigidly mounted on oneof said slides and communicating therethrough with said crystallyzers;level sensors for sensing the metal level in said crystallyzers, saidsensors being mounted on said slides; drives for moving said slides andsaid melting vessels in the vertical direction; and consumableelectrodes mounted in electrode holders therefore.

2. An apparatus as claimed-in claim 1 wherein one of the saidcrystallyzers is equipped with joint pins and mounted in brackets on acarriage.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein a packing bush made of thematerial identical to that of the ingot being produced is inserted intosaid throats' of saidcrystallyzers. i

1. An apparatus for electroslag melting of shaped ingots comprising: two split cooled crystallyzers, each of said crystallyzers having a longitudinal slot at its side wall and throats arranged coaxially with each other and adapted for forming a neck of the ingot produced and communicating upon joining the cavities of said crystallyzers, one of said crystallyzers being mounted so that it is capable of travelling along the geometrical axis of said throats and turning around the horizontal axis which is below the axis of said throats and at right angles thereto; two slides each one of which is mounted in each slot of said crystallyzers so that it, is movable therealong and adapted for maintaining metal and slag baths; two melting vessels each one of which is rigidly mounted on one of said slides and communicating therethrough with said crystallyzers; level sensors for sensing the metal level in said crystallyzers, said sensors being mounted on said slides; drives for moving said slides and said melting vessels in the vertical direction; and consumable electrodes mounted in electrode holders.
 2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein one of said crystallyzers is equipped with joint pins and mounted in brackets of a carriage.
 3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein a packing bush made of the material identical to that of the ingot produced is inserted into said throats of said crystallyzers. 